WAAAA! It took me so long to update. And right now I'm in a hurry so maybe soon when I get the time, I'll edit this. But anyhow, this is as far as I could manage this time.

Well, here's the next chapter! :D

Chapter 12

"You're so heavy."

Natsume teased, trying to break the awkward silence between them.

Mikan's conditioned response was to retort something to that but somehow, with her arms wrapping around him and their bodies closely together, she couldn't find any words to say.

She was tightlipped.

Though the princess could still feel the tugging pain of her badly sprained foot, it no longer bothered her. The only thing inside her mind at that moment was what happened.

After tripping hard and spraining her foot, Natsume immediately helped her up. Tears poured out of her eyes and she can hardly keep herself from shouting. To be honest, she expected him to reprimand her or tease her for being so stupid but the raven haired prince just silently kneeled down as he took her hurting foot in his cold hands.

At this point, Mikan felt herself getting embarrassed and conscious. She just wasn't used to him comfortably touching her even though it's just to help her. Moreover, he looked like he was worried and to this Mikan felt her chest tighten.

There was something wrong with Natsume, she thought.

…there was also something wrong with herself, she admitted.

But his unusual gentleness didn't stop there, after he finished wrapping up her foot in bandages he turned on his back.

"I'll carry you." He said

The brunette, taken aback once again, disagreed at first but after arguing for a bit she finally gave up knowing for herself that her injured foot wouldn't be able to take walking for some time.

Now she's getting a piggyback ride from her sworn enemy. Just what was happening with the world?

"Oi, are you asleep?"

Mikan wanted to fake being asleep then but she thought the silence would just make her even more uncomfortable and she was tired from the nagging emotion she's feeling.

"No." she replied shortly

"Hn."

Afraid that they'll fall back into silence, Mikan forthrightly asked,

"Natsume, why are you suddenly being nice to me?"

The prince stared ahead and coolly said, "Any person will treat injured people nicely."

Mikan pondered on this and thought it was reasonable.

"Yeah but when I fell down the carriage before, you just told me I was stupid. You didn't even help me." She reasoned out, a faint accusation in her tone

"It didn't look like you needed help. Didn't you stand up by yourself, pointed your finger and began shouting at me?"

The brunette knew she lost in this one. But before completely giving up on this conversation, she argued,

"It was because you laughed at me when I fell down."

"I didn't."

"Well, you were smirking! It's almost the same as laughing."

"It's not."

"Still you shouldn't have been mean to me that first day."

"You were the one who began it."

"What? I didn't!"

"The moment you saw me, you were overreacting that's why you fell down."

"That was- That was because of you! You always teased me ever since I can remember so I couldn't help but react that way!"

"Fine, whatever you say polka. Now stop squirming or I'll drop you."

"HMPH!"

"Be grateful I'm carrying someone as heavy as you."

Natsume shifted Mikan up as he adjusted his grip on her legs to make sure she wouldn't fall off as the brunette also adjusted her arms dangling around his neck.

Getting aware once again on how close they're both together, Mikan's cheeks flushed hard. Then she just realized something which touched her deeply.

Though Natsume was complaining of how heavy she was, it's been a long time since they were walking yet he's never given up on her. He didn't even ask her to leave her huge backpack that was certainly adding up to the weight he's carrying. He seemed nonchalant but when Mikan peeked at his face from the side, she can see beads of sweat forming on his temple.

"Ahh, my heart…" She thought as a bright smile formed on her face "…feels warm."

Then a thought came to her and she asked it out to him,

"Natsume, have you really thought about marrying me?"

This question struck Natsume rendering him speechless.

At the back of his mind he knew that she meant to ask if he accepted this set-up between them knowing it was her that he'll marry. Still he wasn't too sure and now he feels cornered.

It was either because of how the question was phrased or the way she asked it that he couldn't think of the right answer to say.

If he had to tell her the truth of how at first he thought about it; that accepting it wouldn't really matter knowing how they both hated each other thus expecting nothing but a cancel of the arrangement; even to himself it sounded terrible.

However if the question was something like, did you accept this marriage agreement? Then he'd answer no because he was really opposed to it. And then he'd explain that it wasn't simply because of her but because he just simply thinks arranged marriage is nothing but an old ridiculous tradition.

Then if the question was, did you want to marry me? The answer is still no since he never thought about marriage not until his parents told him about it.

And if she had just asked, have you EVER thought about marrying me, his answer would be the same as the latter. But instead, asking about "have you REALLY thought about marrying me" indicates she's asking about his sincerity and his seriousness about the matter. And to this he's not very sure of his thoughts and feelings himself.

All these things came rushing inside Natsume's head, as he tried to measure his options.

But no matter how he went about it, the only conclusion he's arriving at was this:

He never really thought about marrying her. He agreed to the plan, he came to the vacation house as he was told, but not once did he ever think about the marriage happening. He was confident that somehow, somewhere something will come up and cancel the thing he thought of nothing more than a pain in the ass. But then, meeting the brunette, spending time with her… and then in just one day, the unbelievable happened.

After thinking through all this stuff, there's no escape anymore, he finally admitted it to himself…

He's in love with her.

"Natsume?"

Now everything's changed, that's why Natsume can't answer her question as simply as possible. If he does, he'll end up confessing to her.

But then again, he'll have to tell her eventually so why not now?

Just as prince Natsume opened his mouth to say all these things, Mikan cut in.

"You know Natsume, I've never really thought about marrying you."

He felt a sharp stabbing pain in his chest.

"I mean, I haven't even known that you were the one I'm marrying. You may think that's stupid but you know that's how I really am. Then I came to this place determined to marry for the sake of my parents and of my duty as a princess. And I found out you were the one I'm getting married with."

Natsume was silent, he wasn't sure where the brunette's statement was heading to so he continued to listen.

"I hated you because you always made me cry and feel miserable before. But now that I've realized that there's this kind of side to you, I… I-I'm quite okay with you now."

Mikan took a deep breath,

"So I just wanted to say… if anything were to happen… since I know you hated the idea of marrying me, I just thought… if we could stay this way."

Unconsciously, her head leaned down on his shoulder

"You know… having simple conversations or spending time with each other… like right we're doing now."

He finally knew where this was headed to.

And he found himself regretting… that he should have denied it all the way through. He found himself regretting… why he had even given thought to his feelings… why he opened his heart.

If he hadn't, he wouldn't have to feel the pain he was going through as he listened to her say the last heart crushing part.

"…I'd be fine with something like this… like staying friends with you."

He knew she was smiling and he knew he's breaking.

"Let's be friends Natsume."

Heart numbing pain struck him.

Never in his life has he felt something as devastating as this and he found himself struggling against it. What makes it worse is that he's new to all of these.

He bit his lip, silent as he carried the person he's fallen in love with but also the same person who broke his heart.

Unable to hold it in any longer, he found himself cutting off his emotions as words came out of his mouth cruelly…

"We're getting married polka."

The princess raised her head. "Eh?"

He stared ahead of him, his crimson eyes glinting. "Friends… never marry each other."

Though Mikan couldn't see his face, she could sense the sudden change of aura around him.

"Since we're to marry each other for the sake of our royal duties…"

He dropped her off from his back and looked at her, his crimson eyes betraying him as anger, disappointment, sadness, and pain was mirrored in them.

"We can never be friends."

They were both hurting by then. But Natsume continued…

"So don't get ahead of yourself because you're nothing to me but a princess I have to marry for the sake of my duty."

Cold.

He was being cold.

As Mikan struggled to stand up limping with her only foot, she can feel the throbbing hurt not of her foot but of her heart breaking as her eyes started to water.

Holding back her tears, Mikan looked at him saying almost whispering,

"You're being mean Natsume."

He smirked at her, his eyes boring through hers that she felt like she's being poured with cold water.

"Yeah, that's why you hate me polka because I'm mean. So don't expect anything from me anymore than this."

That was all he said before he turned away and walked ahead of her just as her tears poured down uncontrollably.

Mikan was terribly hurt.

She asked those kinds of things because she wanted to be honest with him and let her feelings reach out to him. And the reason for asking about the marriage was because she was hoping, praying, that somewhere in his heart, even just a tiny bit, she mattered to him.

But moments passed, he didn't answer her making her realize her insignificance to him.

That was why she wanted, at the very least, to be friends with him. Even if that meant something other than what she really wanted, Mikan thought that at least she could stay by his side in that manner.

But she was getting ahead of herself. Just like he said.

She was just an annoyance for him. An obligation. Just a princess of the neighboring country he's obliged to marry. Other than that, she was nothing.

Now she's regretting as well.

She shouldn't have asked him that sort of question. She shouldn't have thought too much about what she was feeling for him. She shouldn't have got ahead of herself.

Staring at his back from a distance as he walked ahead leaving her, all Mikan could utter was,

"I shouldn't have let myself fall for him."

Wiping her tears away, Mikan started to follow him with her limping foot and her broken heart, while Natsume clenching his jaw,

…finally allowed a tear to escape from his eye.

How better would it have been if they were only honest enough to say their feelings directly… If only they were patient enough to hear each other to the end… If only it things were that easy...

Then they would have found out their feelings for each other instead of suffering from their broken hearts.

And with that, they finally arrived in town.

To be continued…

SNiFF, SNiFF, TT^TT. I made them fight and misunderstand each other. SNiFF, SNiFF.

Anyhow, hope you liked it! ;) AND reviews make me happy and inspired so please feel free to drop some comments, suggestions and stuff. Thanks for reading! :D JA MATA! ;D